The top-tier teams leading the world of women’s college basketball almost always find a way to win. But when they do lose, it’s generally to each other.

Yet, the ISU women’s basketball team is looking to shock the nation twice in the same week when it heads down to Waco, Texas to take on No. 3 Baylor (14-1, 3-0 Big 12), in hopes of their second straight win against a top-five opponent.

“You beat Texas, and your parting gift is a trip to Waco to see Baylor,” said ISU coach Bill Fennelly. “We’ve got two stretches this month where we have three games in seven days. We’ve just got to stay motivated and stay excited about the opportunity.”

Tuesday’s matchup comes after Saturday’s 59-57 win against then No. 3 Texas. The Cyclones handed the previously undefeated Longhorns their first loss of the season after rallying back from an 18-point deficit in the second half, marking Iowa State’s first win against a top-five opponent since 2004.

“It was the best feeling,” Nikki Moody said after the game Saturday. “I can’t even describe it.”

Yet, the players didn’t waste too much time celebrating following the win against Texas. Instead, they got right back to work preparing for Baylor.

“We went to the locker room and [we were] all celebrating, but we’re not done yet. We have another top-five team next week,” said guard/forward Brynn Williamson. “Everybody is going to celebrate this, but it’s not going to be the highlight of our season. There is so much more to play, and the Big 12 is up for grabs.”

However, playing two top-ranked teams in a row creates a pretty big challenge. But for Fennelly, he’s not as worried about how to manage what happens on the court during the games, but instead how he handles time away from the actual games themselves.

“Wherever they tell us to play, we play. I think the biggest thing for us is how you manage the physical part of it,” Fennelly said. “Tomorrow night will be nine days in a row of work for our team, practice and games … I think that’s more of how you manage practice.”

But Fennelly doesn’t want his team stuck focusing on the past. It’s not the upset win against Texas or the disappointing loss against TCU last week that he wants his team remembering. It’s what lies ahead.

“We learned in one week what can happen in college sports, where you’re as low as you can be in one moment and probably as high as you can be in another,” Fennelly said. “We always talk about the next 40 minutes. That’s how we approached it in practice and the next 40 minutes for us is Baylor.”